Cutting of sheet material



Dec. 11 1923.

F. M. FURBER CUTTING OF SHEEVT MATERIAL Filed April 26 1920 2Sheets-Sheet 2' :iiivis jg. 4o

Patented Dec. 11, 1923.

UNITED STATES 1,476,706 PAINT OFFICE.

FREDERICK M. FUR/BER, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOEMACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

CUTTING OF SHEET MATERIAL.

. Application filed April 26, 1920. Serial No. 376,629.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. FUR- BER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Revere, in the 'county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in the Cutting ofSheet Material, of which the following description, in connection withthe accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characterson the drawings indicating likev parts in the several figures,

This invention relates to" the art of cutting sheet material and moreparticularly to cutting sheet material into blanks.

Machines heretofore employed in practicing well known methods of cuttingsheet material commonly comprise dies or other cut ters designed toco-o-perate with cutting beds or platens or other means for taking thethrust of the cutting means. In those machines in which cutting beds areused to support the work and receive the edge of the cutters duringcutting operations considerable time is lost at regularly recurringintervals in resurfacing the cutting beds, and the arrangement isotherwise unsatisfactory in that the cutting edges of the cutters ordies are worn through contact with the cutting bed and not infrequentlybroken or otherwise damaged. In various classes of machines providedwith platens or other means to co-operate with the cutters or dies thereis a considerable initial outlay since the platens or other memberswhich co-operate with the cutters are expensive to manufacture.

It is an object of thi invention to devise an improved method of cuttingsheet material in the practice of which simple and inexpensive machinesmay be employed and in which all danger of injury to the cutters will beobviated.

In one aspect the invention resides in a method of cutting sheetmaterial which comprises cutting part way through the material from oneside thereof and subsequently with out disturbing the location of thematerial completing the cut from the other side of the material by a cutsubstantially in alinement with the cut made during the first cuttingoperation, utilizing an imperforate backing plate for each cuttingoperation to insure clean cut edges on the material.

In another aspect the invention resides in operating alternately onopposite sides of sheet material to cut blanks therefrom, the sheetmaterial being alternately backed up on opposite sides to support itagainst the thrust of the cutting means during each cutting operation. I

In theillustra-tive machinetwo dies of the same size are providedlocated on opposite sides of the plane of the sheet material andarranged to operate alternately on sheet material to cut blankstherefrom, means being provided for forcing all the blanks cut from thematerial through one of the dies.' As shown a backing plate which takesthe thrust of one of the dies is mounted in the other die and isoperated automatically to permit a cutting operation by the containingdie and subsequently to protect the cutting edge of said die. I

Other features of the invention and novel combinations of parts will bedescribed in the following detailed specification and pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a view inside elevation and partly in sectionof the illustrative machine; and 1 r I Figs. 2 to 6 inclusive aredetailed views of the die and of the supports for the materialillustrating the different positions of the dies during the cutting of ablank from sheet material. I

In the illustrative embodiment of the in. ventionthere is a supportingtable 8 'for' means comprises upper and lower feed rolls 12 mounted inthe frame 14 of the machine in close juxtaposition .to the cutting meansand operated through a train of gears in any well known manner, thatshown consisting of gears 16 mounted on the axes of the rolls. 12 andarranged to be constantly in mesh with other gears 18 and 20respectively, the latter two gears being in mesh with each other and thegear 20 being intermittently driven through the operation of a pawl (notshown) carried by the arm 22 loosely pivoted on the shaft 24 andoperated through the rod connection 26 with the crank arm 28 on thecounter ,shaft 30. In the illustrative construction, the shaft 30carries a gear 32 which is in mesh with a gear 34: on the main shaft 35,the latter being driven from the power'pulley 37.

As shown the feeding means is intermittently operated to position thework between cuttingjrneans designed to operate upon the sheet materialfrom opposite sides thereof;

Where blanks are to be cut from the material the cutting means willcomprisetwo dies 36 and 38, the upper die 36 being mounted in a plate 40designed to be detachably secured to the reciprocable plunger 42 so thatdies of various sizes may be readily removed and substituted by othersfor usej in thema- 4 chine. shown the plunger 42 is reciproa roll 5'2fengaged inthe cam groove 54 in the cam member 56, the arrangement beingsuch that the plunger 42 is operated in properly timed relation withrespect to the lower die and to the feeding means for the sheet materialas will be hereinafter more fully set forth. The lower die 38. issimilarly mounted in a plate 58 detachably secured to a plunger-.60sothat ,it may be removed and replaced bya die of size corresponding. tothe upperd'ie when the latter is changed tocut a different sized blank.For operating 7 the lower die there is provided power means comprising abell crank lever 62"pivoted at 64 on the frame of the machine and havingattached to one of its arms a link 66 connected by a pivot 68 to theplunger 60. To the other arm of the bell crank 62 there is pivoted alink 70 which forms part of a toggle, of which the other iink'72 ispivoted at 74 to the frame of the machine, the knee of the toggle beingprovided with a roll 76 for movement along the cam groove; 78 iii thecam member 56. The tiniingof the reciprocable plunger will be explainedin connection with the description of the cutting ofblanks from thesheet material.

' One of'the dies, in the present embodiment of the'ma'chine the lowerdie, is so mounted as to provide a passageway clear through the sa inefor the blanks as'theyare successively cut from the sheet material andthe plate 58 and the plunger 69 which support the die are alsoconstructed to provide an extension of the passageway through the die sothat the blanks may pass through and be discharged time a' receptacle(not shown). Mounted the other die, that is in the die 865 there is'aplate 80 which'is of a size to fit snugly within the and which issupported in such a way. as tohave its lower sur face in the plane ofthe outing edge of'the containing die. In the preferred construction,the support for the plate 80 comprises a bolt 82 adjustably secured tothe plate 80 and slidably mounted in the plate 40, a spring 84surrounding. the bolt and pressing upon both of-the plates 40 and'SO andopera tive to hold the plate 80, as stated; in the plane of the cuttingedge of the die. When the die, is thrust into the work the plate 80moves into the die under pressure of the blank being cut butprogressively. moves back to its position in the plane of the cuttingedge of the die asthe latter rises after a cutting operation, thusleaving the blank in the planeof the sheet of material being operatedon; I v

Forsupporting the sheet material during the operation ofthe die 36,there is provided a plate or cutting bed 86 shown in operative positionin Fig. 2 of the drawings. In erder that the cutting bed 86 may beremoved. after the cuttingope ration of the die 36'; power means ispreferably provided for reciprocating the bed or plate comprising a rockshaft 88 mounted in the frame of the machine and providedwith an arm 90attached to the platefl'at its upper end by means of a link 92 which ispivoted to the plate as indicated at 94. 'For rocking the shaft 88connections are provided to a bell crank lever 96 pivoted to the frameof the machine and connected by means of a rod 98 to an arm 100 fixedlyattached to said rock shaft. Preferably the bell crank lever 96 isoperated from the camj member 56"by means of a roll I02 engaging in acam groove 104 in said'cam member so aS to operate the plate or cuttingbed- 86 in properly timed relationto the cutting instrumentalities aswill be hereinafter explained.

For an understanding of the operation of the machine reference should behad to 2 to 6 inclusive, which show thedies and their cooperatingcuttingblocks at Va rious stages of the cutting operations.

Through the operation of the feeding means for the sheet material theforward end of the sheet is fed into positionbeneath the die 36 where itis supported for the first part of the cutting operation by the: plateor cutting bed 86, Fig. 2 showing the sheet. material in place on saidcutting. bed just prior to the downward movement of the die 36. Duringthe operativestroke of the die 36 it descends toward the cutting plate86 and enters the sheet material 10 passing part way only through thethicknessof the material so that there is impossibility of injury to thecutting edge of the die. Preferably the cut i ig edge of the die passesmore than half way through the thickness. of the 'sheet and during theentrance of the cutting edge into the material, theplate 80 is forcedtestis-ta the die against the tension of the spring 84 as indicatedclearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings. While the cutting die 36 is movingupwardly the block 80 remains in contact with the work on the cu tingbed 86, the upward movement of the plunger l2 continuing until pressureon the sheet material is relieved whereupon the cutting bed is removedfrom between the two dies, this step of the operation being illustratedin Fig. 4 of the drawings. Subsequent to the removal of the plate 86 andwhile the die- 36 is moving upwardly the die 38 moves upwardly tocomplete the cutting of the blank, the sheet material being backedduring this operation by the cutting block 80 which is supported by itsspring St to such an extent that it acts as a cutting bed while the die38 is severing the blank by completing the cut through the materialbegun and almost completed by the die 36. In other words, the amount ofmaterial to be cut by the die 38 in completing the severance of theblank is such that the plate 80 with its backing spring 84 servesefliciently to withstand the thrust of the die 38 which moves up almostinto contact with the edge of the upper die and receives the blank thussevered from the sheet material. The cutting of the blank by the die 38is illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein the blank is shown completely severedfrom the sheet material. The dies then separate and as the die 38descends, it carries the completely severed blank with it as indicatedin Fig. 6 of the drawings. Since the die 38 moves downwardly to aposition in a plane below the lower surface of the cutting bed 86 thereis no danger of the recently severed blank being displaced from the dieso that when the latter rises again to complete the cut. ting of anotherblank, the previously severed blank is "forced further downwardly intothe die 38 and finally drops through the die into the passageway inthedie plunger and then into a receptacle provided or the purpose of.receiving the blanks. From the above description. it will be clear thata. method is disclosed and a means provided for cutting sheet materialwithout danger of injury to the cutting edges of dies or other cutters.and that the novel method may be practiced by the use of a relativelysimple and inexpensive mechanism.

Having tnus cesc-ribed the invention, what is claimed new and desired tobe secured h Letters Patent of the United States is In a machine of theclass described, plurality of cutting means each having spaced cuttingedges and arranged to operate alternately on opposite sides of sheetmaterial to cut blanks therefrom, and means for forcing all the blanksout from the material into the space between the cuttin edges of one ofthe cutting means. Q

'2. In a machine of the class described, a

die for cutting part Way only through sheet material to form a blanktherefrom, a die of the same size as the first mentioned die andoperative subsequently to the operation of the first die to complete thecutting of the blank, and a member for supporting the material againstthe thrust of the second die and for forcing the severed blank into thisdie.

3. In a machine of the class described, two dies arranged with theircutting edges adjacent and in alinement with each other so that they mayact upon opposite sides of the sheet material to out blanks therefrom,and imperforate means for supporting the sheet material against thethrust of the cutting edges of the dies.

l. in a machine of the class described, a die for operating on one sideof sheet material to out part Way therethrough in a blank formingoperation, imperiorate means for supporting the material against thethrust of the cutting edge of the die, means for withdrawing saidsupporting means, and a second die operative, after thewithdrawal 01"the supporting means, to complete the cutting of the blank from theopposite side of the sheet.

5. In a machine of the class described, cutting means operatingalternately on opposite sides of sheet material to cut blanks therefrom,the operation of one cutting means being completed before the other hegins, and aplurality of means movable alternately into operativeposition for backing thesheet material to support it against the thrustof the cutting means during each cutting operation.

6. In a machine of the class described, a

die for cutting part way through sheet material from one sidethereoi, asupport for taking the thrust of the die, means for with drawing saidsupport after said die has operated, a second die arranged to operate after the withdrawal of the support to complete the cutting of the blankfrom the op posits side oi" the sheet material before it has movedlaterally with respect to the first mentioned die, and means for takingthe thrust of the second die during the cutting operation whichcompletes the severance of the blankirom the material,

7. In a machine of the class described, a die for operating upon sheetmaterial par tially to sever a blank therefrom, a second die of the samesize as the first die for completing the cutting of the blank from theopposite side of the sheet material, and means ior torcing the blank outfrom the material into one of the dies,

8. in a machine of the class described, a support for the sheet materialto be out, a die co-operating with the support for cutting part way onlythrough the thickness of the material as a step in the formation llti ofa blank, a second die in alinement with the first mentioned die andoperative after the completion of the cutting operation. of the firstdie to cut through the sheet material from the opposite side to completethe formation of the blank, and means for mov ing said support and thedies relatively to each other in a lateral direction so that the supportis displaced from between the dies so that the second mentioned die mayoperate on the work,

9. In a machine of the class described, a support for sheet material,die arranged to co-operate with the support to cut part way through thesheet material partially to form a blank, a second die of the same sizeas the first mentioned die and arranged, in, alinement therewith on theopposite side of the sheet material, means for moving the sup port thetwo dies relatively to each other in a lateral direction so astodisplace the support from between the dies, and

means for operating the second die to com plete the cutting of theblank.

10. In a machine of the class described, a die for operating on one sideof sheet material to out part way through the thickness of the materialpartially to form a blank therefrom, and a second die of the same sizeas the first die and arranged in exact alinement with the first die tooperate upon the opposite side of the sheet material, and means foroperating the first die and subsequently the second die to complete theformation of the blank'and leave it in the second die.

11. In a machine of the class described, a support for the work, a die,means for operating the die to causeit tocut part way through thethickness of the sheet material partially to form a blank therefrom,means for withdrawing the support, a second die of the same size as the,first mentioned die and arranged in alinement therewith so as to operateupon the opposite side of the sheet material, means for causing thesecond die to complete the cutting of the blank, and means for forcingthe blank into the second die.

12. In a machine of the class described, a

cutter for cutting part way only through the thickness of sheet materialfrom one side thereof, a second cutter arranged with its cutting edgeinalinement with that of the first mentioned cutter to operate upon theopposite side of the sheet material, means support, means for moving oneof the dies to co-operate with the support to'cut part way only throughthe thickness of the sheet material, meansfor moving the support and thepair of dies relatively to eachother to displace the supportfrom betweenthe dies, means for moving the second die to complete the severance ofthe blank from the sheet material, and means in the'first mentioned diefor taking the thrust of the second die and'for co-operating. with saidsecond die to force the blank therethrough.

14. In. a machineof the class described, a support for shcetinaterial, adie for co-operationwith the supportto out part way oily through thethickness of he sheet material the blank forming operation, a blockwithin the die mounted to yield into the die during the cuttingoperation, means for withdrawing the support whereupon the block returnsto the plane of the cutting edge ofthe die, a second die of the samesize as the first die and arranged in alinement therewith, and means formoving the second die to cooperate with said block in completeing theformation of the blank.

In amachine of the class described,

a plurality of backing supports for sheet material, a pair of cutters,and means for moving the supports and the cutters alternately to performcutting operations on opposite sides of the sheet material to out blankstherefrom.

16. In a machine of the class described, a pair of cutters arranged inalinement with each other to perform cutting operations upon oppositesides of sheet material and to cooperate with each other in cutting eachblank from the sheet material, andtwo members, one for each cutter,movableinto po sition to co-operate with'the cutter to take the thrustof the cutter, during its operation on the sheet material.

17. In a machine of the class described. a pair of cutters to operate onopposite sides of sheet material in cutting each blank there from, abacking member for each cutter to take the thrust of the cutting edge ofthe cutter, and means for positioning the backing members alternately inco-operative relation to the respective cutters. r

18. In a'machine of the class described, a pair of cutters arranged inalinement with .each other to co-operate in the cutting of blanks fromsheet material so arranged that each cutter cuts only part way throughthe thickness of the sheet material, separate backing means forsupporting the sheet material during the cutting operation by eachcutter, and means for movin the backin means to retractedinoperative-position after the completion of the cutting operation byeach cutter.

19. In a machine of the class-described, a support for sheet material tobe cut, a pair of dies of the same size arranged in vertical alinementwith each other, means for operating the upper die to cause it to outpart way through the sheet material on the support, means forwithdrawing the support, a block in the upper die for moving the sheetmaterial out of the die and holding it against movement into the dieduring the cutting operation by the lower die, and means for moving thelower die to complete the cutting of the blank in co-operation with theblock, the construction and arrangement being such that the blank isforced into the lower cutter.

20. That improvement in methods of cut ting blanks from sheet materialwhich comprises operating alternately on opposite sides of sheetmaterial to cut blanks therefrom and backing up the sheet materialalternately on opposite sides with an imperforate backing member tosupport the material against the thrust of the cutting means and thusinsure perfect cutting durmg each cutting operation.

21. That improvement in methods of cutting blanks from sheet materialwhich comprises cutting part way through the thickness of the sheetmaterial from one side by means of a die, subsequently cutting throughthe remaining portion of the thickness of the material from the otherside of the sheet by I means of another die of the same size as thefirst mentioned die, and simultaneously with the second cuttingoperation supporting the material with an imperforate backing member toinsure clean cutting of the blanks.

22. That improvement in methods of cutting blanks from sheet materialwhich comprises cuttirig almost through the thickness of the sheet bymeans of a die while the material is supported to take the thrust of thedie, removing the support and substituting another therefor on theopposite side of the sheet without disturbing the location of thematerial, and completing the out from the other side of the sheetmaterial while the latter remains in the location it possessed duringthe first cutting operation.

23. That improvement in methods of cutting blanks from sheet materialwhich comprises cutting part way through the material from one sidethereof by means of a die, completing the cut by means of a die of thesame size as the first mentioned die and operated form the other side ofthe sheet material, and forcing the blank thus formed into one of thedies.

24. In a machine of the class described, a cutter for operating on oneside of a sheet of material to cut part-way therethrough, a secondcutter having its cutting edge in exact alignment with the cutting edgeof the first cutter and arranged to perform a cutting operation upon theopposite side of the sheet material to complete the cut through thematerial, a backing member for support ing the material against thethrust of each cutter, and power means for alternately reciprocating thecutters and the backing members for operating on the material.

25. In a machine of the class described, a pair of cutters having theircutting edges in exact alignment with each other to perform cuttingoperations upon opposite sides ofsheet material so that through thecooperation of the cutters the material is out completely through, andmembers having supporting surfaces relatively large as compared with thecutting edges of the cutters for taking the thrust of the cutters duringthe operation of each on the sheet material, one of said members beingmovable laterally into and out of the space between the cutters.

26. In a machine of the class described, a cutter for operating on apiece of material to cut part-way therethrough, a second cutter havingits cutting edge in exact alignment with the cutting edge of the firstcutter and arranged to perform a cutting operation upon the material tocomplete the out therethrough, imperforate backing members forsupporting the material against the thrust of the cutters, and means formoving the cutters and backing members alternately to operate upon thematerial.

27. In a machine of the class described, a plurality of cutters havingtheir cutting edges in exact alignment with each other and arranged toperform cutting operations upon opposite sides of sheet material so thatthrough the co-operation of the cutters the material is out completelythrough, and a plurality of members alternately movable to serve asbacking supports for the material in the line of thrust of the cuttersduring1 the operation of each on the sheet materia a 28. Thatimprovement in methods of cutting blanks from sheet material whichcomprises cutting a piece of material part way through the thicknessthereof from one side of the piece subsequently cutting completelythrough the piece by a out which is in exact alignment with the cutfirst made, and simultaneously with the second cutting o erationsupporting the material against t e thrust of the cutter to ensureperfect cutting of the material and to force the severed blank into thesecond cutter.

In testimony, whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK M. FURBER.

